Ulster Dominate Second Half To Climb Above Munster In URC Table

Tries from Tom Stewart, Jake Flannery, and Bryn Ward saw Ulster put Munster away over the closing 40 minutes, as they started 2026 by moving up to second place in the BKT United Rugby Championship.

Richie Murphy’s side made it back-to-back interprovincial derby wins, triumphing 28-3 in impressive fashion at Affidea Stadium to gain some revenge for last season’s brace of defeats to the same opposition.

Celebrating his contract extension with Ulster, Nathan Doak kicked 13 points, including two first-half penalties which gave the hosts a 6-3 lead that should have been larger given they had been the better team.

Unbeaten in their last four URC away trips since last April, Munster opened their account with a JJ Hanrahan three-pointer, but that proved to be their only score during a forgettable performance in Belfast.

They were missing a number of frontliners as part of 10 changes in personnel, and Ulster grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck to complete a profitable festive period that has seen them gain 10 league points out of a possible 15.

While Doak took his tally into double figures from the tee, Stewart (47 minutes), replacement Flannery (54), and player-of-the-match Ward (71) all crossed the whitewash as Ulster beat Munster for the first time since November 2023.

The result means Munster drop down to fourth in the table, ahead of Saturday’s concluding round 9 fixtures. They are now a point behind Ulster who are level on 31 points with Cardiff, and just one behind the pacesetting DHL Stormers who host the Vodacom Bulls tomorrow.

Ulster’s early ball retention was encouraging in front of a sold-out home crowd, with Jacob Stockdale also bumping off Hanrahan’s attempted tackle, and James Hume leading the chase of Jack Murphy’s garryowen to force a kickable penalty.

Fit-again captain Iain Henderson called on Doak to open the scoring, four minutes in. The home side continued to win the aerial contests, and Werner Kok used a Stuart McCloskey skip pass to unlock the defence out wide.

Mike Haley’s determination at the breakdown was rewarded with a relieving penalty, though, after Doak and Stockdale had both breached the Munster 22. Disappointingly, it was immediately followed by John Hodnett’s departure through injury.

As the snow began to fall, a Haley-inspired break for Munster was foiled by the full-back’s forward pass to Tom Ahern. Ulster could not capitalise on a subsequent penalty, however, as Munster defended the maul well and then held up Zac Ward in a choke tackle.

The handling errors increased in the wintry conditions, and apart from a Hanrahan interception, Ulster continued to control both possession and territory. Doak split the posts in the 24th minute following a scrum penalty and an offside decision against Hanrahan.

A Murphy fumble gave Munster the platform to respond, and replacement Brian Gleeson was stopped just inches short of the try-line. Hanrahan did knock over a 27th-minute penalty from straight in front to get them off the mark.

There were further positive signs for the Munstermen, with Alex Nankivell earning a penalty at the breakdown and Thaakir Abrahams soaring to claim a high ball, but it was a scrappy finish to the first half from both sides with more knock-ons and loose passing.

Doak was bang on target inside the opening minutes of the second period. His latest place-kick punished Alex Kendellen for not rolling away, as his surefooted strike from Munster’s 10-metre line made it 9-3.

Kok threatened soon after, breaking past halfway via a Hume offload before the attack faltered when a Stockdale pass went to ground. The Ward brothers went on the rampage just a couple of minutes later, barging up into the visitors’ 22.

A TMO review went against Stockdale, who was denied a try in the left corner with Hanrahan doing just enough as the last defender. Nonetheless, hooker Stewart, having taken an initial tap penalty, managed to successfully burrow over, aided by Tom O’Toole’s support.

Doak’s fourth successful kick of the night widened the margin to 13 points, and Ulster swiftly kept the pressure, Cormac Izuchukwu using turnover ball to dink a kick through and force Haley to concede a lineout.

Things got worse for Munster with Kendellen going off injured, and despite replacement Conor Bartley and Hanrahan doing well to draw a knock-on from Bryn Ward, they could not avoid conceding a second try by the hour mark.

McCloskey made a nuisance of himself at the breakdown, allowing Henderson to get in for a turnover. He neatly got the ball into the hands of out-half Murphy, who fired a bouncing pass out to Kok, and the South African’s quick hands gave Flannery a straightforward run-in to the right corner.

Now 21-3 behind, Munster continued to struggle to deal with Ulster’s physicality, losing collisions and the gainline. Nick Timoney stripped the ball free to send Zac Ward on another supercharged run into the opposition 22.

A foot in touch, amid tackles from Abrahams and Jack O’Donoghue, prevented Kok from extending Ulster’s lead. Clayton McMillan’s charges needed a lift, and Tony Butler came off the bench to good effect, his penalty to touch giving them field position at last.

They got even closer from another penalty, before a knock-on halted their progress just over five metres out. Ulster forced the Reds back past halfway, with winger Ward tackling Hanrahan to ground and then winning a penalty for not releasing.

As the snow returned, Rob Herring went close from an Ulster maul, setting up a concerted spell of forward pressure. Responding to a Sean O’Brien steal, young number 8 Ward muscled his way over having started a short attacking flurry from the base of the scrum.

Doak topped off the try with the conversion, Ulster’s only disappointment being their failure to snap up a late bonus point score. Wingers Ward and Kok raised hopes of an even bigger winning margin, but Munster scrambled back to bring the move to a sudden end.